For parents, children’s education comes first

Loo Ah Huat checking his net to catch crabs in front of his house at a water village in Chew Jetty, George Town, Penang. The former factory worker sets aside RM350 every month for his grandchildren's tuition fees. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, September 5, 2014.

In the final part of the cost of living series, The Malaysian Insider speaks to low- and middle-income earners who, besides being squeezed with high food prices, go to great lengths to ensure their children get a proper education. These parents are adamant that their children do better than them.

Even if Michael De Cruz, his wife and his elderly father eat less at every meal, it is a sacrifice worth making if it means his daughter gets to attend preschool.

De Cruz earns about RM3,000 a month from driving a lorry during the day and a taxi at night.

He works 16 hours a day, seven days a week just to ensure that he has an extra RM250 a month so that his four-year-old daughter can go to kindergarten.

He is also saving up to send his two-year-old son to preschool when he turns four.

“It’s expensive, but education is number one. Eating less is okay to save money as long as it’s for our kids’ education,” said De Cruz, 33, at his flat in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur.

He tried applying for government-sponsored kindergartens before, but could not get his daughter in. So he sets aside RM250 each month to send her to a private nursery.

De Cruz’s commitment to education is shared by every family interviewed by The Malaysian Insider.

No matter how little they make each month and how tight money was, they still found ways to ensure that their children not just got to school, but that they could get the supplies and extra tutoring they needed.

It was the same case with despatch rider Ojaran Fakharurrazi Omar, 37, from Penang.

Despite earning just about RM2,000 a month and struggling to put food on the table, Ojaran and his wife tried their best to give their two children what they needed for school.

Their eldest son is nine and goes to a religious school.

"Kids his age need computers and Internet to get their homework and projects done.

"I cannot afford to buy a computer or have Internet connection at home. So I take my son to the Internet cafe, spend a few ringgit so he can quickly use the computer and surf the net.

"I don't think schools realise that some of their students come from families too poor to have computers or Internet. We don't even have Astro," he said.

For retired factory worker Loo Ah Huat, RM350 is set aside each month for his grandchildren's tuition fees.

His family of eight, including three grandchildren, have a household income of under RM5,000.

He grumbled that the fees were expensive but the family were willing to pay for the primary schoolchildren’s extra studies.

"The tuition fees are one of the top expenses in my family, after food and utility bills. Those are unavoidable expenses.”

To make extra money, the 66-year-old still goes out once a week to unload vegetables from ships in port. His wife also peels garlic at restaurants for extra cash.

Eswari Raghavan delays paying for her hospital bills just so that there is RM200 left each month to send her eldest daughter to tuition. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, September 5, 2014.In Kuala Lumpur, Eswari Raghavan delays paying for her hospital bills just so that there is RM200 left each month to send her eldest daughter to tuition.

“I do my best by selling flowers and garlands just so that I will have enough money for her,” said the 38-year-old single mother.

She earns about RM 1,440 a month from a combination of Socso payment, rent and profits from selling flowers.

Eswari had to quit her administrative job because of a heart condition. She’s had open-heart surgery twice at University of Malaya Medical Centre.

The Welfare Department paid for half of the procedure but the other half, which is more than RM1,000, still needs to be paid. 

“My daughter is in Form Three this year and she needs this tuition. So I do what I can to provide,” said Eswari, who lives in the Kampung Abdullah Hukum flats.

Lim Khen Yeen’s family cuts back on almost everything they can, eating meat, going out and clothes just to prepare for higher education expenses for his four children.

The 41-year-old is the sole breadwinner in his family and takes home about RM2,800 from his job in a hardware shop.

“Our children’s education take up the most of our expenses as they go to a Chinese primary school and attend tuition classes,” he said of his four children aged 10, 8, 6 and 4.

Lim also has to fork out extra at the start of the year for new clothes and books. He does not have Internet connection at home but he knows that when the children go to secondary school, it’s something he’ll have to invest in.

“We send our children for tuition classes because it’s essential to their studies. As of now, there has not been a need for Internet connection because they are young, but we’ll sort it out in the future when they need it.”

And for those who can’t earn an income any longer like retiree Hoo Pon San, 67, they invest in their grandchildren’s education by not burdening their own children.

Hoo and his wife, who both live with their daughter’s family in Petaling Jaya, depend on their savings to get by.

“My daughter and her husband’s joint monthly income is about RM3,000 a month, which is just sufficient for her family.

“They have to pay for their children to attend Chinese primary school and tuition classes, so when all of their expenses add up, even they are finding it hard to get by. “They can’t afford to give me money every month except during Chinese New Year. However, even then, I feel guilty accepting their hard-earned money because I understand that they need to feed their family as well.”

- TMI